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People pass through Waterloo train station, in London, during the morning rush hour, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. The new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in more European countries on Saturday, just days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world scrambling to stop the spread. No cases have yet been reported in Alaska, according to the Department of Health and Social Services. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Health officials urge caution and calm amid new variant

No cases confirmed in Alaska but officials urged vaccinations.

People pass through Waterloo train station, in London, during the morning rush hour, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. The new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in more European countries on Saturday, just days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world scrambling to stop the spread. No cases have yet been reported in Alaska, according to the Department of Health and Social Services. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Choir group Floyd Dryden Eagles leads a crowd in the singing of Christmas carols at the Douglas Community United Methodist Church on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021, during the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The Juneau 4th of July Parade Committee hosts the tree lighting each year in recognition of the two holidays - Christmas and the 4th of July - miners were given during Juneau's mining days. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Christmas season begins in Douglas with songs and lights

A not-so-silent night.

Choir group Floyd Dryden Eagles leads a crowd in the singing of Christmas carols at the Douglas Community United Methodist Church on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021, during the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The Juneau 4th of July Parade Committee hosts the tree lighting each year in recognition of the two holidays - Christmas and the 4th of July - miners were given during Juneau's mining days. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
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Woman dies, man medevaced following early morning accident

One injured.

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Collen Goodrich, owner of Annie Kaill's, holds up a print from the artist John Fehringer, on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. Goodrich said she's not having any sales for Black Friday, a major shopping day, but she's taking advantage of shoppers being out. Some had sales, others didn't, but businesses in downtown Juneau were open and ready for customers. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Back in Business

Back in Black Friday.

Collen Goodrich, owner of Annie Kaill's, holds up a print from the artist John Fehringer, on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. Goodrich said she's not having any sales for Black Friday, a major shopping day, but she's taking advantage of shoppers being out. Some had sales, others didn't, but businesses in downtown Juneau were open and ready for customers. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Luke Metcalfe sets up his record shop at Juneau Public Market on Friday, Nov. 26. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)

Thanksgiving weekend tradition returns

Public Market is open at Centennial Hall

Luke Metcalfe sets up his record shop at Juneau Public Market on Friday, Nov. 26. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)
Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire Participants in the eighth annual Turkey Trot 5K take off from the starting line on a dreary Thanksgiving.

‘We were ready’: Turkey Trot returns with in-person fun run

Conditions along the trail were more suitable for a trudge than a trot.

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire Participants in the eighth annual Turkey Trot 5K take off from the starting line on a dreary Thanksgiving.
Science writer Ned Rozell, left, and UAF ecologist Ben Gaglioti pause after a slippery, seven-hour rainforest hike near La Perouse Glacier on July 3, 2021. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Gratitude comes easy to science writer

My last shot of gratitude goes to you, reading this somewhere we have sent it.

  • Nov 26, 2021
  • By Ned Rozell
Science writer Ned Rozell, left, and UAF ecologist Ben Gaglioti pause after a slippery, seven-hour rainforest hike near La Perouse Glacier on July 3, 2021. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
Meagan Bryd, an AmeriCorps volunteer, carries a box load of meals toward a vehicle for delivery on Thanksgiving. (Ben Hohenstatt Juneau Empire)

Wheelin’ and mealin’: Army of volunteers distributes food to hundreds

Gobbling up food.

Meagan Bryd, an AmeriCorps volunteer, carries a box load of meals toward a vehicle for delivery on Thanksgiving. (Ben Hohenstatt Juneau Empire)
Angela Ketah holds a bright bouquet of fresh flowers for her business, Sitka Flower & the Chocolate Moose. Angela’s dedication to her team’s wellbeing and growth has helped her lead the way through the difficulties of the pandemic, setting an example for entrepreneurs around the region. (Courtesy Photo / Lione Clare)
Capital City Weekly

Resilient Peoples & Place: Sitka Flowers The Chocolate Moose is a small business growing with its team

Small businesses like Sitka Flowers The Chocolate Moose bring character to our downtown streets.

Angela Ketah holds a bright bouquet of fresh flowers for her business, Sitka Flower & the Chocolate Moose. Angela’s dedication to her team’s wellbeing and growth has helped her lead the way through the difficulties of the pandemic, setting an example for entrepreneurs around the region. (Courtesy Photo / Lione Clare)
Sandra Mulkey and her son Caleb, 3, set up a Christmas tree at the Mendenhall Mall on Nov. 24. Mulkey is kicking off a toy drive for foster children. She said that she has not collected toys at the Mendenhall Mall for the last few years because of low traffic. However, she said the increased traffic at the now mostly-full mall prompted her to set up there. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

Mall together now

Community focus revitalizes mall

Sandra Mulkey and her son Caleb, 3, set up a Christmas tree at the Mendenhall Mall on Nov. 24. Mulkey is kicking off a toy drive for foster children. She said that she has not collected toys at the Mendenhall Mall for the last few years because of low traffic. However, she said the increased traffic at the now mostly-full mall prompted her to set up there. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)
FedEx trucks sit outside the Juneau Fed Ex office on Nov. 25. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

Shopping online? CBJ taxes still apply

Remote sellers tax generated $2M last year

FedEx trucks sit outside the Juneau Fed Ex office on Nov. 25. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)
This undated photos shows National Day of Mourning plaque on Cole's Hill in Plymouth, Mass, where since 1970 Indigenous groups have gathered to mourn the history of colonization in North America. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the traditional "First Thanksgiving " in 1621, but for many Indigenous people, including Alaska Natives, the holiday is a somber one. (Courtesy photo / Creative commons)

Thanksgiving has somber context for Indigenous Americans

New narratives.

This undated photos shows National Day of Mourning plaque on Cole's Hill in Plymouth, Mass, where since 1970 Indigenous groups have gathered to mourn the history of colonization in North America. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the traditional "First Thanksgiving " in 1621, but for many Indigenous people, including Alaska Natives, the holiday is a somber one. (Courtesy photo / Creative commons)
Turkey was served at the Juneau Salvation Army Thanksgiving Dinner at the Hangar on the Wharf on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019, but this year COVID-19 is preventing dine-in meals but hot meals will still be distributed for free Thanksgiving Day. (Courtesy Photo | Juneau Salvation Army)

Public events fill up Juneau’s Thanksgiving weekend

There’s a horn of plenty to do.

Turkey was served at the Juneau Salvation Army Thanksgiving Dinner at the Hangar on the Wharf on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019, but this year COVID-19 is preventing dine-in meals but hot meals will still be distributed for free Thanksgiving Day. (Courtesy Photo | Juneau Salvation Army)
A painted mural of Ahmaud Arbery is displayed on May 17, 2020, in Brunswick, Ga., where the 25-year-old man was shot and killed in February. Arbery was shot and killed by two men who told police they thought he was a burglar. (AP Photo / Sarah Blake Morgan)

All 3 men charged in Arbery’s death convicted of murder

Jurors on Wednesday convicted the three men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery.

A painted mural of Ahmaud Arbery is displayed on May 17, 2020, in Brunswick, Ga., where the 25-year-old man was shot and killed in February. Arbery was shot and killed by two men who told police they thought he was a burglar. (AP Photo / Sarah Blake Morgan)
Eaglecrest Ski Area is preparing to open for its 2021-2022 season with infrastructure upgrades and eased COVID mitigation strategies. (Courtesy photo / Nate Morris)

Freshly up-gunned Eaglecrest readying for opening day

New snow guns and hardened nordic trails will great winter sport enthusiasts on opening day.

Eaglecrest Ski Area is preparing to open for its 2021-2022 season with infrastructure upgrades and eased COVID mitigation strategies. (Courtesy photo / Nate Morris)
The author with a Kenai River rainbow caught during his honeymoon in June. (Jeff Lund / for the Juneau Empire)

I Went to the Woods: It’s OK to be happy

Of course, it’s not as easy as going fishing.

The author with a Kenai River rainbow caught during his honeymoon in June. (Jeff Lund / for the Juneau Empire)
Public Health nurse April Rezendes gives a Juneau resident their flu vaccine at the Juneau Public Health Center on Nov. 23, 2021. The vaccine is available as are COVID-19 vaccinations. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Juneau now offering walk-in vaccines and boosters

Boosters are free, easy, and convenient to get.

Public Health nurse April Rezendes gives a Juneau resident their flu vaccine at the Juneau Public Health Center on Nov. 23, 2021. The vaccine is available as are COVID-19 vaccinations. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
A Carnival cruise ship arrives in Juneau early in the morning on Aug. 14. Local business owners say that the short and significantly scaled back 2021 cruise season was welcome after the cancelation of the 2020 season. However, they say it was not enough and they are struggling to survive. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

Small businesses still struggling due to pandemic’s effect on travel

“We are in survival mode”

A Carnival cruise ship arrives in Juneau early in the morning on Aug. 14. Local business owners say that the short and significantly scaled back 2021 cruise season was welcome after the cancelation of the 2020 season. However, they say it was not enough and they are struggling to survive. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)
State Rep. David Eastman sits at his desk on the Alaska House floor in Juneau, Alaska, on March 5, 2020. Dozens of West Point graduates have demanded state Rep. Eastman resign from office over his ties to a right wing extremist group, saying his affiliation has betrayed the values of the U.S. Military Academy he attended. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)

70 West Point graduates call on Eastman to resign

ANCHORAGE — Dozens of West Point graduates have demanded state Rep. David Eastman resign from office over his ties to a right-wing extremist group, saying… Continue reading

State Rep. David Eastman sits at his desk on the Alaska House floor in Juneau, Alaska, on March 5, 2020. Dozens of West Point graduates have demanded state Rep. Eastman resign from office over his ties to a right wing extremist group, saying his affiliation has betrayed the values of the U.S. Military Academy he attended. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)
The egg mass under the tipped up shell is indicated by A, and the head of the male sculpin by B. (Courtesy Photo / John Palmes)

On the Trails: Caring for offspring

Vertebrates have a broad spectrum of ways to care for their offspring

The egg mass under the tipped up shell is indicated by A, and the head of the male sculpin by B. (Courtesy Photo / John Palmes)